The library book drops located in the parking garage are now OPEN! Due dates remain extended through July 1 and fines through September 1. Carry Out Service begins June 15th for DPPL owned items only. You can place holds now. All phone lines are now open for reference and teleservices. The library building remains CLOSED until further notice in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and Illinois Governor Pritzker's "Shelter in Place" Executive Order.

Several years ago, a patron wrote the library with a question about ebook availability.

The email outlined the patron’s dismay at library ebook wait times.

Fueling that dismay was the fact that there were many titles that this patron wanted to read but they weren’t available in the ebook format at all.

We agree!

It was important to receive this email and to begin a dialog with a loyal patron about the ebook marketplace for libraries.

In the early days of library ebooks, the big publishers wouldn’t lend their titles at all.

Library advocates outside Macmillian offices

Library advocates raised their voices and the publishers heard. Publishers didn’t make it easy though. The cost for a library to buy a single ebook was approximately six times the cost of an ebook that an individual could buy.

We advocate for library ebook readers every chance we get.

Library advocates raised their voices and publishers came back with a license that was only three times the cost of a retail ebook but then put a limit of two years to use book.

At first, this licensing limit seemed outrageous, but the lower cost per title allowed libraries to buy more, and more is what library users need and want.

We analyze a lot of data to choose ebook titles to maximize library dollars and patron use.

Library advocates are still raising their voices and still need to raise their voices.